The Savior's Rock
by OCaptainSwan
Summary: CS set during 4x16 "Best Laid Plans" takes a deeper look at the scene on the bridge/docks and what happens after Emma goes searching for the author.
1. Chapter 1

**I was supposed to be working on my story A Quiet Moment instead but I couldn't focus or get this story idea out of my head. This will likely be a 2 chapter story...maybe 3. We'll see where my muse takes me. I really wish we were able to see more from the episode but i'm really glad that Killian was there for Emma and will continue to be there and see the best in her. Please leave me reviews and comments and suggestions, maybe i'll draw this out a little more...**

"_They were right."_ Emma breathed out as Killian held her tight against him.

Emma closed her eyes, willing herself not to fall apart again. Her arms clung to her pirate and his hand was threading through her hair. It was normally a comforting gesture, but she was a mess right now and it was taking every ounce of control she had to not burst into tears against his shoulder. Though she was pretty sure he wouldn't mind it. He was her rock in this stormy mess.

"I can't believe they did this to me." Emma finally said. Killian pulled back slightly and used his hand to cup her chin and bring her face to him.

"I know love; you have every right to be angry right now. And as horrible as what they did to you was, I have to believe that they did want what was best for you."

"Hmph. Yeah. What was best for me? Sending me through a portal to grow up alone was what was best for me. To be shuffled around from home to home was what was best for me. To grow up not knowing I had any family, to be unloved and unwanted. Do you know how screwed up that has made me?" Emma was shaking now, tears were building up behind her eyes and her skin sparked with anger, a reaction from her magic building up.

"Emma, ever since they found you, they have been doing their best—"Killian's hand brushed across her cheek.

"Their best? You honestly don't believe that do you? They have been lying to me since they met me. Who knows what else they are keeping from me." The lamps on the light posts were starting to flicker and Emma took a step back causing Killian's hand to fall down to his side.

Killian wasn't going to let her run from him. Not ever again. He wasn't afraid of her magic and right now she needed him. He took a step forward, invading her space and reached out for her, His hook was at her waist and he pulled her to him. Emma didn't have much fight left in her and allowed herself to be pulled back in. She gave a deep shuddering sigh and Killian brought her down next to him on the bench she had been sitting on when he walked up to her.

Killian wrapped his arm around her and pulled her head to rest on his shoulder. "Hey. No matter what. You are not unloved or unwanted. You have people here who love you and want you very much."

"You, Henry and now August are the only people I want in my life right now. No one else." Emma suddenly sat up. "August…I have…I have to go check on August." She turned and looked at Killian who closed his eyes and gave a small nod. Emma gave a small smile and touched his face reassuringly, just as she had done when he told her Gold's plan to darken her heart. After a few seconds she got up and grabbed the paper that had the illustration of the door...or uh…the actual door that had the actual author of the storybook inside and the key to unlock it and took off running towards the mansion.


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright! Two chapters in ONE day! I hope that you enjoy this story. The next chapter is likely to be the last. Please leave me reviews and comments! It makes my day! As always, I do not own OUAT or any of the characters. **

Emma stood in the middle of the main street turning in every direction, her eyes scanning every building, every alley, and every possible place the author could be hiding. It was no use, he was nowhere to be found, at least not in this darkness and it was likely going to take more than just the savior to find him. She couldn't call her parents, no, she didn't want to be anywhere near her parents right now. No matter how good of a tracker Snow White was, she needed to keep her distance from them. Emma pulled out her phone and called the only person she knew who would be by her side in an instant.

"Killian" Emma was breathing fast and hard, all that running and anger and a little bit of fear was creeping up on her fast "the author…we released him...and he ran…I need…I need help." She took a deep breath and breathed in as much air as her lungs would take in. Killian vowed to be there soon, though she knew he tried to sound soothing and reassuring, there was an edge to it there. Panic maybe; concern probably, something else she couldn't quite pin down. It was no matter, she had work to do. She was almost grateful for the distraction that was likely to keep her hunting all night as she definitely wasn't going back to the loft.

"Love" Killian breathed out as he came rounding the corner, pulling her into his arms and nuzzling into her neck. He caught his breath and then pulled away slightly, still keeping his hold on Emma.

"What happened love?"

Emma sighed and relaxed into him once again and decided to tell him the whole story of what had happened before they go traipsing off into woods most likely searching for the blasted author.

"When I left you, I went to see August. I showed him the page and the key that Henry had found. My parents were there. I told August I wanted to release the author because I had questions for him about me. August told me about how it was possible he wasn't even the author who wrote my story. There have been many authors over time and he was the last one so far. And he also said that he is the only one who instead of recording stories that actually happened would manipulate them. That's why the sorcerer captured him in the book in the first place. It's against the rules to do that. That's why everyone is after him; he is the only author who has manipulated stories. Anyway, it seemed as though my parents knew him. I don't know how or why or anything, I didn't have time to ask. He threw the curtain rod down and it hit all of us and then he ran out of the mansion and I ran after him but he was too fast. He got away. I don't know where he is but it's important that I find him."

"Aye lass, we'll find him. I don't think it's wise to go out looking right now though. Not in the dark, not when Gold's around and those two witches anyway. How about we start first thing in the morning?"

"Killian what if he crosses the town line? He doesn't know this town and its borders. We know absolutely nothing about him, other than he is a manipulator. He could be anywhere, doing anything! Oh God! What if Gold get's to him first?!" Emma broke away and ran her hand down her face, massaging her temples.

"Hey" He took her hand in his, "we're going to win this Emma."

"Are we?"

"Yes. We are." Killian took another step closer, just inches away from her now.

"How can you be so sure?" Her voice sounded so small, as if she was already defeated. Killian studied her for a moment and saw the dark circles lining her eyes, her will to fight was crumbling and he knew that it was because she had a long and hard day and was spent.

"Because love. You are the savior. You will defeat them. You have always defeated them. I have yet to see you fail."

"Well failure might be coming, buddy. Why are you so sure I can do this?"

"Because Swan, I believe in you. I will always believe in you. I will always see the best in you."

"That doesn't exactly answer my question, but thanks." Emma offered him a small smile. She was feeling more emotional than she was comfortable with. Probably from the constant pain in her chest from her talk with her parents and from exhaustion. God, she was so tired.

Emma looked around one last time and then bit down on her lip trying to think of what to do and where to go. She wasn't going to the loft. Maybe she could rent a room at Granny's. Or maybe Killian would let her stay the night on his ship. She looked at him and it was no surprise to see him staring at her again. She wondered if he knew what she was thinking, after all, he read her like an open book.

"How about I walk you home love? We can go on our author hunt in the morning. You look absolutely spent." Killian wrapped an arm around her and used his hook to brush a piece of hair from her face.

"I can't go back there…to the loft…I can't sleep there tonight. I was just trying to think of where to go. I could rent a room at Granny's. Though she and Ruby are probably asleep by now. I don't really want to wake either of them…unless maybe…" Emma glanced up and looked at Killian whose understanding shown in his eyes and he nodded.

"Aye. You will come stay on the Jolly tonight."

"Are you sure? I'll try to work something out for tomorrow. I just can't go back there. It's going to take some time."

"Aye love, I'm sure. I would be honored if you'd stay on the Jolly. Stay as long as you like love. My home is your home, love."

Emma reached up and touched his face before pressing herself against him again; she almost collapsed into his arms. Emotions were wrecking her body and she was sure she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Killian held her tight against him and his hand smoothed out her hair, this time it gave comfort to Emma. She let a few tears fall down her face and tried to compose herself before breaking away. Killian knew though, as soon as she pulled away and he looked into her eyes. He could see the sadness in them. He brushed away a stray tear and grabbed her hand and led her to his ship.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry that this took forever for me to finish! Life and work and well...Laziness crept in the last few weeks there and I just wasn't very motivated to write. I told myself I wanted to finish this story up before the new episode tonight, but I didn't think I would procrastinate until the very last day! Anyway, I'm sorry dear readers! I hope this chapter makes up for it. This is the last chapter of this short little story and I love it so much! I'm looking forward to watching the new episode tonight. The last few weeks have been torturous without a new episode! **

"Well love, here we are." Said Killian as he helped Emma step onto his ship.

"Here we are." Mumbled Emma, she turned and gave Killian a small smile and watched as he lovingly ran his hands over the railing of his ship. The way he touched it was with just the same amount of reverence that he usually used with her.

Emma broke away from Killian and started to walk around the deck, admiring the Jolly as well. She let her fingers thread through the ropes and up across the rigging. When she reached the other end she splayed her arms across the railing and looked out across the harbor. She could easily see how Killian had come to love the sea. It proved to have a somewhat calming effect on her as well. The moonlight and stars dancing patterns of light over the dark water and the light rock of the ship was lulling her and easing the tension from her body.

Killian watched Emma for a few minutes admiring the moonlight shining down on her, almost making it seem like her blonde hair was glowing. She looked lost in thought but he could see that she was beginning to be calmer, her body was slumped forward and her arms spread out on the railing before her. He moved slowly behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Emma leaned back with a contented sigh into Killian's body and allowed him to hold her. She nuzzled into his neck and laced her fingers with his hand that was gently resting across her stomach. They haven't had too many quiet moments like this lately. All their moments have been quick and emotional. Both of them needing assurance from the other. It felt nice to just relax against him and to not have to talk about anything, he understood her anyway. She didn't need to say anything more.

After a little while Emma started to shiver, the night air had turned cold and she wasn't sure how she was even standing on her own anymore. Her exhaustion had settled into her bones and she was sure as soon as she would lie down she would be out of it. She wasn't sure how it was possible to press herself closer to Killian, seeking out his warmth and his strength to hold her up, but she did. Killian turned her in his arms and held her close to him, his hand massaging her back and he pressed a kiss to her head.

"We should get you to bed love. You are exhausted." He pulled back just enough to look at her face.

"Yeah" Emma smoothed her hands down Killian's arms, letting them rest on his forearms "Killian I'm sorry for going off back there. It's going to take some time for me to get over all of this, if I even can."

"Hey" Killian pressed his palm against her cheek "you don't need to apologize to me love. I'm here; you don't have to go through this alone."

Emma nodded and turned her face to press a kiss into his palm and then looked back into his eyes and smiled a real smile this time. The weight of his words settling into her mind, she wasn't alone anymore. She didn't need to keep the pain to herself anymore. No matter what she had someone to confide in, who would be there for her and comfort her.

"Let's get you downstairs love." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her down to the captain's quarters. Once inside he hurried to light the lantern inside the dark room. Emma slipped off her coat and laid it across the chair that was pushed under the desk in the middle of the room. She then turned and looked about the space. She really wanted to explore it, to look at all the books she saw on a shelf by the bed, all the trinkets and papers on the desk, but she was much too tired.

Killian chuckled as he watched Emma's eyes roam about the room and in a few quick strides he was at her side again, pulling her towards the bed. "You can snoop around later Swan. Sleep now." He helped settle her onto the bed and unzipped her boots and pulled them off and set them down next to the bed. He covered her up with a quilt and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Emma reached up and caught his hand right before he started to turn away and Killian raised his eyebrow in question.

"Stay with me? Please?"

"As you wish love." Killian's eyes shone as he looked down at her, with so much love and her love for him shone right back. He took off his jacket and boots and set them down next to Emma's. Emma slid over on the bed making room for Killian and turned on her side. Once Killian was next to her she wrapped her arm around his chest and he pulled her next to him, giving her another kiss on her head. "Good night Swan."

"Good night Killian." And a few seconds later he could hear her breathing softly, knowing she was asleep. He brushed her hair back from her face and held her tight against him. He knew that tomorrow would bring about another emotional day as Emma faced her parents and as they searched for the author but for tonight he was back on his ship with the woman he loved safely in his arms. He smiled as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
